Wrist watch reviews

December 28, 2018

Rumoe Nobel Royal – Silver/Black (Review)

Many of you wrote me on Instagram that I should do more reviews on some more dressier pieces as most of the watches in the last year that I reviewed are divers, skeleton or some extraordinary pieces. And so I deliver, as today we are taking a look at a watch from a company called Rumoe. They started out as a Kickstarter project and got 151 backers who pledged SEK 280,250 (around 27000 EUR) to help bring this project to life. The company itself is based in Sweden, Stockholm. On their website it says that they are “offering luxury watches for affordable prices”, I really hate this saying as it seems that almost every company uses this phrase. It’s like if it worked for other companies, it should work for me too right? Well, yes, for the general public it maybe works, but for us watch geeks it just makes us laugh. But nonetheless, I wanted to check it out as I heard positive things about their watches.

The Nobel Royal arrived in a very nice looking box. The outer box is cardboard and signed with Rumoe. Inside we have a beautiful black piano finish box with a Rumoe logo on the top. With a push of the button on the front you open the lid and here is the watch in all its glory. The first impressions were that it is pretty small, I knew it has a 38mm case (on the website it says 40mm, but I took out my callipers and measured that in reality it is 38mm rather than 40mm that they claim on their website), but it looks like a 36mm case. Also, I noticed that it looks like a Rolex Datejust in a way, but not copying it to the point where it looks like a homage. I also noticed that it comes with the butterfly deployment push-button clasp which, I really like when companies do this as I like these clasps and the watch just looks better with it.

The Nobel Royal case is composed of 316L stainless steel. The case has a barrel shape and has a very nice machine work with nice lines and design overall. The finishing of the whole case is polished except the sides which are satin-brushed as those parts are usually the first ones that get scratched if the sides would be polished. The case diameter is 38mm, the thickness is 10,9mm and from lug to lug, it measures at 46,5mm. The proportions, in my opinion, are perfect, I rarely see watches from microbrand in these sizes and it is nice to see that some companies care for those smaller sized watch designs. At 3 o’clock we have a push-pull crown which is simple enough with a good grip, and the logo deeply and accurately engraved on the end. The solid case back has a pleasantly designed cityscape engraved within it. Usually, I like exhibition case backs on these classic looking watches, but I like that they didn’t go with it as it makes the watch a bit thicker, and I like that it is slim. Sitting on top of the case is a flat sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating which is suitable for the price. The water resistance is only 5ATM (50m), but that is pretty normal for a dress watch as you wouldn’t go with a watch like that swimming. But it can withstand rain, handwash etc. easily.

The matte black dial on this watch is very simple and understated, I would say a bit boring as there are no defining or exciting features to it. I like how the hour markers are slightly tapered. The Rumoe logo at 12 o’clock, in my opinion, is well designed and looks good. Swedish companies always come up with great looking logos for their new watch companies, I have reviewed a lot of Swedish company watches and can say only good things about their watch designs and logo designs. At 3 o’clock we have a square date window with a nice polished frame around it. The date wheel is black to match the dial, which is good as you don’t always get this. The pitched dauphine hands are a classic shape. The second’s hand is stick shaped and sweeps around the dial nicely.

The movement that is inside the Nobel Royal is Japan made Seiko NH35A, which is reasonably well regulated at +8 to +10 seconds a day. This movement is pretty popular in the microbrand world as 50% of watches that are coming out have this movement inside them. It has proven it’s reliability and easiness to service within many years. You just can’t go wrong with Japan made movements from Seiko. It is an automatic 24 jewel movement with 41-hour power reserve and beating away with 21,600 BPH.

The strap is black leather one with a crocodile pattern on it. The strap is pretty standard, nothing special, but definitely better than most brands have. It’s very soft and comfortable whilst wearing, signifying good quality, nor is it stiff upon initial wear. I’m not a big fan of these fake crocodile look straps, but it looks good on this watch, but I bet it would look killer on some tan brown vintage suede strap or something like that. The strap tapers from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm at the buckle. The butterfly clasp is fully polished. On the clasp, you have Rumoe logo deeply engraved on the top. Right out of the box it feels a bit stiff to open, but after some time it gets easier. It feels pretty sturdy and closes very strongly, at least I didn’t have any problems with it.

Overall the watch is really good, it is small, well made, the company seems pretty legit too. The price maybe is a bit too big, but you get a solid case and great designs, legible dial, automatic Seiko NH35A movement with hacking, sapphire glass and a great strap with nice a butterfly buckle. On the wrist, the watch feels very comfortable and easy to wear due to the small size. If you are in search of a good looking and well made dressy watch for everyday use for under 400$, this is the one! Yes, there are other options in the market like Seiko for example which will be cheaper, but here at least you get something more different that you won’t see on another wrist that often!